The transfer enabled me to build a new iron roofed house to live in with my family. Were it not the transfer, then I would still be living in my old grass thatched house with no hope of upgrading to a better house. I also have livestock , a cow and three goats. I know these livestock will reproduce and have many of them. To me they are living assets and my financial security. I can sell the offspring to cater for my future financial needs.

We have been able to build new houses as well as owning livestock, and also our children are comfortably in school having paid for them school fees. We achieved all these through GiveDirectly, which in my opinion has reduced the level of poverty we were in. I do not see anything that GiveDirectly has not done well.

I spent a larger portion of the second transfer on purchasing livestock which include a cow and three goats. I chose to buy these livestock because its a financial security for the future of my children's education. My son was almost discontinued in school since I couldn't pay school fees on time. Thus I took KES 20000 to pay for him and was allowed to continue with his studies. I spent the remaining amount to buy foodstuffs and paying for other household needs.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that I now own goats. It has been my desire to rear goats for a long period of time but due to my low income, I could not afford it. The fact that goats reproduce twice a year, they give me hope or becoming wealthy very soon. I also like the fact that they can survive in any climate condition and can adapt to a harsh environment, their food is also easily available, unlike other domestic animals. When they multiply I am planning to sell some in our local markets and buy a dairy cow so that I can get milk. I will also sell milk hence increasing my source of income. According to me, these are the well-thought assets that will help me in the near future.

It was around 5 am when I heard the notification from my mobile phone. When I checked the message, I realized it was an Mpesa message from Give Directly. They had sent my first transfer. I was so excited and I couldn't sleep afterwards. I kept on thinking of how I would use the money. I really feel lucky to be one of the beneficiaries.

I spent part of my first transfer on buying a few building materials. I bought twenty pieces of iron sheets, building poles and some nails. This was for the construction of my new house. I decided to build a new house because my previous house was in very poor condition. It was also small and could not accommodate us all. I later bought four goats. I decided to buy them because they reproduce twice a year. The rapid reproduction gives me hopes that I will soon become rich because the goats are in high demand in this region. I also cleared fees arrears for my two children who are in high school. I did this so that they would not be distracted by being sent home. I want them to study well and perform in class. I spent the remaining amount of money to buy enough foodstuffs for my family which will last us for a couple of days.